To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)

Directed by Susan Johnson | Romance, Comedy | 1h 39m

Everyone I know who has seen To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has watched it more than once. Netflix’s most recent rom-com hit is just that kind of heartwarming, gushy, endlessly replayable movie.

There is so much to be celebrated about TATBILB – it’s a feel-good crowd-pleaser with an Asian-American in the starring role – but the movie’s plot, screenplay, and acting leave much to be desired.

In the film, Lana Condor stars as Lara Jean Covey, our relatable high school heroine. Lara Jean, known to her sisters Margot (Janel Parrish) and Kitty (Anna Cathcart) simply as LJ, spends most of her time in her room reading romance novels and living out boy fantasies in her head. Deeply averse to expressing romantic feelings to her crushes directly, Lara Jean writes love letters to the most intense crushes she’s had over the year. She calls these her “most precious possessions,” and keeps them in her closet with no intention of ever sending them.

Somehow, though, the letters get mailed out and – as you can imagine – chaos ensues. To convince her former crush Josh (Israel Broussard) that she’s over him, Lara Jean and another former crush Peter (Noah Centineo) agree to start a fake relationship to throw Josh off the scent. The rest of the film follows Lara Jean and Peter as their relationship goes from fake to not-so-fake.

The plot’s celebration of inexperience is definitely praiseworthy. Watching Lara Jean struggle to find a seat at lunch because her only friend is missing shows TATBILB’s teenage audience that it’s okay to be a little lonely or a little lost. Few among us can claim to have had cruised through high school, which is why the characters resonate with us. TATBILB also validates us when we find ourselves daydreaming or toying with fantasies in our heads. You can spend days thinking about a crush with no intention of ever telling that person your feelings – and that’s normal!

Lana Condor’s performance is one of the movie’s bright spots. She inhabits the character of Lara Jean perfectly. The moment I truly appreciated her performance was when I watched a cast interview afterwards and realized that Condor’s loud, outgoing personality is completely different than the quiet, almost timid character of Lara Jean.

Despite its other boundary-breaking qualities, TATBILB’s plot is hopelessly idealized. Other than Lara Jean, the characters rarely deviate from classic archetypal moulds. Peter Kavinsky is a classic jock. John Corbett’s role as Dr. Covey, Lara Jean’s father, says all the correct, supportive, quips at all the right moments – but it just feels contrived. Fake relationships in real life never pan out this way.

TATBILB doesn’t break the tried-and-true rom-com formula – nor does it attempt to – but if you suspend your disbelief, the results are endlessly enjoyable. Forgo the popcorn on this one. It’s time to grab your warmest blanket and break out the ice cream.

Andrew Zhao is a third-year Political Science, Philosophy, and Mathematics student at Innis College.